


The Android Prince

by engagemythrusters



Category: Star Trek: The Next Generation
Genre: And if you don't celebrate Christmas- Happy Winter!, M/M, Merry Christmas y'all!, Nutcracker AU, a cute Christmas fic!
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-24
Updated: 2018-12-24
Packaged: 2019-09-25 14:00:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,484
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17122706
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/engagemythrusters/pseuds/engagemythrusters
Summary: Geordi is spending his first actual Christmas by himself, trapped in a cabin, and feeling miserable. He's about to call it a night when he suddenly receives a mysterious package...





	The Android Prince

Geordi sighed. It was his first actual Christmas, and it didn’t look like it was going to be a good one.

When he was first offered shore leave by Captain Zimbata, he was ecstatic. Spending a nice cozy Christmas on Earth sounded like so much more fun than sitting at the conn of the USS _Victory_. He had made plans to spend it in a cottage in the northern United States.

Now that he was actually there, everything seemed less exciting. The “white Christmas” he had been dreaming of was a nightmare. He was cold, and not even the cabin’s warm fire or his comfy sweater could warm him up. It felt more like Andoria than it did Earth.

And the snow wasn’t as beautiful as he had imagined, either. In the morning, the sun had glared so brightly on the sparkling brilliance of the snow that it gave him a headache. And when the sun finally dipped below the horizon, it started snowing so hard and so fast that Geordi couldn’t see a thing when he stepped outside. He might as well have been walking around without his VISOR.

Geordi was beginning to question why the idea had appealed to him in the first place. Christmas had stopped being a real holiday when capitalism lost its control on Earth. While the religions associated with Christmas still celebrated it in their own ways, Geordi wasn’t a part of those religions.

He supposed the idea had been planted in his head by his fellow bridge officers, who had helped him decide what he was going to do with his short shore leave. They had a bit more nostalgia for that part of Earths past than he did. But they had made a great pitch; it sounded like fun!

If only he could go back two days ago and tell his past self to turn the shuttle around and go to Risa. Warm and sunny Risa.

But there he was, cold and forlorn. And there he was going to stay. For two more nights.

He was sitting there, in his misery, when the fire started to die.

Grumbling, he got up from his bundle of blankets on the couch to throw some more logs on the fire. He sucked air through his teeth in pain as an ember hit his skin.

He quickly threw another log on and rushed to the cabin’s tiny kitchen. He ran water over his hand, just in case. He wasn’t exactly sure what to do when hit by an ember, but it seemed smart to treat it like a normal burn.

After a period under the cool water, he held it up to the light to see if there was any damage done. There didn’t appear to be any lasting effects, which was good. But it still felt smart to cover it with a bandage or something. He rummaged through the cabinets. There had to be a first aid kit somewhere in the cabin.

When he had gone through his third cabinet with no luck, he heard something in the living room behind him. It was unlike anything he had ever heard before. There was a snap that was immediately followed by what almost sounded like a mixture between a whoosh and a chime.

Geordi stopped rooting around the cabinet and stood absolutely still. “Hello?”

He was answered by silence.

Summoning up all of his courage, he quietly grabbed a knife from the cutlery block. He inched his way to the living room, peering around.

Strangely, there was nobody to be found in the living room. He relaxed slightly and returned the knife back to its rightful place in the knife block. He felt slightly foolish; what would he have done with the knife anyway? Stab the intruder?

Geordi was confused, though. He could have sworn there was a noise. It was a possibility that the isolation and the howling wind outside could be playing tricks on him, but somehow, that didn’t feel like the case. It really sounded like there was something there.

He rubbed his forehead as he walked back to his pile of blankets near the fire. All he really wanted was to go back to the _Victory_ and read some technical manuals. He was halfway through the specs of the old NX-01 _Enterprise_ , and he had left that back in his quarters.

But when he went to sit on his blanket hoard on the small couch, he noticed something was buried under the folds of the topmost blanket. Digging through his tremendous pile, he fished it out.

It was a box.

No, not just any box. A wrapped Christmas present.

It was a sight to behold, really. Nearly a half meter in length and a handspan across and high, it was quite hefty. It was wrapped in a luxurious silver paper, and it glistened in the firelight. A thick, golden ribbon ran the width of the box near the top, and there was a big golden bow that sat in the corner. A tag stuck out of the side of the large bow. “Merry Christmas,” it read in ornate, scrawling letters. Everything about the gift was opulent and grandiose.

Perplexed, Geordi slumped onto the couch. He twirled the tag around in his fingers, hoping to find a hint as to who it was from, but there was nothing to be found. He flipped it back. Oddly, where it had wished him the season’s greetings, it now said “Open it!” in even larger letters.

“Okay…” he said to himself. It was all getting a bit peculiar, but he was too intrigued and excited to think much of it.

He was so tempted to tear it all off like any normal present, but this particular gift felt too important. Too special to rip apart. So, he settled for pulling the tape off the seams and lifting off the paper.

The box underneath the paper was just as lavish and fancy as the paper, if not more so. It was an old box, made from a deep colored wood, perhaps oak or mahogany. There were intricate carvings all over the surface. When Geordi looked closely at them, they almost looked like a miniature scene.

The first panel he saw were miniscule ballerinas dancing amongst snowflakes and trees. He turned the box, and there was a sleigh pulling two small figures. The next side was a giant castle, and many small people dancing around. The last one Geordi could swear was a carving of a cat.

On the top of the box was one big figure. But this one was different from the rest. More abstract. It was a depiction of a single man, standing perfectly straight, with his eyes closed. Geordi thought it was the finest carving on the whole box.

When he had his fill with the exterior of the box, he opened it.

And then quickly shut it again.

After the initial shock settled down, he reopened the elaborate box and pulled the item out.

It was a handsome figure of a small man. But it was a bizarre man, to be honest. The skin was so pale that it was essentially white. The eyes were yellow and bright, and they stared blankly at Geordi. And it seemed to be glowing.

Geordi thought it was the fire light at first, but when he moved to a darker corner of the room, the figure still gleamed. It was almost like a halo of light was emanating from the figure. He thought it was perhaps the most intriguing thing about the little man.

Other than the few peculiarities about the figure, it was a perfect image of a man. The proportions were correct, and everything from head to toe was so detailed that it actually looked like a man that happened to shrink to a half a meter in height. The hair felt real, too. The small clothes were adorable; the man looked like a soldier from the 1800’s, but even more fancy. Like a prince, maybe.

And the face was admittedly quite attractive. Or so Geordi thought. It looked kind and sweet. Gentle, almost. There was a beauty that emanated from the man that Geordi couldn’t quite understand. He was so drawn to it.

“Who are you? And where did you come from?” he asked it in wonder.

The man did not answer, as it was not alive, after all.

After what felt like ages of studying the toy man, he suddenly remembered his hand. It didn’t pain him anymore, but he still felt like he should apply ointment on the small burn.

He headed for the bathroom, hoping the elusive first aid kit would be in there. He checked the cabinet behind the mirror, and there it was.

“Where were you when I needed you?” he asked it. He groaned, realizing this was the second time he asked an inanimate object a question. The loneliness was getting to him.

A loud snap came from the living room. This time, it wasn’t followed by a chiming whoosh. It was just a dead snap.

He rushed back into the room to find the small man lying on the floor, with an arm split clean off.

“Oh shoot!” Geordi exclaimed.

He picked the man and his arm up, inspecting the break. Where the arm had detached from the shoulder, tiny wires poked out.

So this wasn’t just any figure of a man. It was a little robot man!

But how could it have broken? Geordi had left it laying on the couch, where it couldn’t have fallen. And even if it did fall, it didn’t look like it was fragile enough to break so easily.

He looked around, searching for an answer. Not surprisingly, he didn’t find one. Although he did think he saw a mouse scurry into the kitchen.

He shoved that particular thought out of his mind quickly. There was no way he saw a mouse. And even if he did, there was no way he could sleep knowing the cabin was infested with mice. So all mouse-related thoughts were banished to save him a night’s worth of sleep.

And on the note of sleep, it was getting late. In fact, it was nearly 2200 hours, and if he wanted to get outside early tomorrow before it snowed again, he’d need to get to sleep soon.

Geordi felt that he couldn’t leave the poor little robot man like that, so he went to the bathroom to grab a bandage to wrap the arm with. He made a tiny sling for the arm and tied it to the body. Satisfied with his handiwork, he rearranged the blankets to make a small nest for the robot.

He didn’t know exactly _why_ he was doing this. It just felt like he should be treating this miniature robot nicely.

Crawling into his own bed, he pulled off his VISOR and set it on the bedside table. He wondered if he should have put out the fire, but ultimately decided that it was fine burning. With any luck, it would keep the petite house a bit warmer during the night.

Unfortunately, he didn’t seem to be getting to close to sleep. He kept tossing and turning, waiting to get sleepy. He didn’t know how long he spent laying there. It felt like ages. He just couldn’t get that silly little robot out of his mind.

He eventually gave up on sleep and put his VISOR back on. He checked the time. Two minutes to midnight. He sighed and got out of bed.

The little robot man was still sitting there in the fire light, staring out at nothing. Geordi smiled at it. He was beginning to feel very fond of it.

He made his way to the kitchen to warm up some milk. It wasn’t his favorite thing to drink, because warm milk was frankly quite disgusting. But who was he to question an age-old remedy to sleeplessness?

Setting out a jug of milk from the refrigerator and a saucepan to heat the milk with, he began to hate how old fashioned the cabin was. Back on the _Victory_ , he could just replicate a mug of warm milk. Or even better, go to Sickbay for a hypospray of triazolam or some other insomnia medication.

The old-fashioned clock on the fireplace mantle struck twelve, and it made Geordi jump. It was louder than he had expected. He shook his head at his own uneasiness.

Just as he was about to pour some milk in the saucepan, he noticed something out of the corner of his VISOR. He slammed the milk jug down on the counter, frustrated. How many things was he going to get worked up about tonight?

But this time, it wasn’t just him hearing or imagining things.

The tiny Christmas tree he had set up in the corner of the living room was actually growing.

Amazed but scared, he went to stand next to it. He didn’t even bother to set down the saucepan; he was too curious to even think about that. He just needed to see the tree grow.

By the time he got to the corner with the tree, it had hit to the ceiling, and was still skyrocketing. It was bending to the right in order to keep to growing.

Suddenly, mice began to pour out of the tree. Geordi yelled in horror as they, too, began to grow. And not only did they grow, clothes began sprouting on them. The nearest one, now his height, had turned into a Romulan and was holding a sword. He could count twelve more Romulans behind him.

Geordi, terrified out of his wits, began to back up slowly. A hand to his back stopped him. He whirled around and saw the little robot man.

Only he wasn’t so little anymore.

He was tall and lean, and even more handsome than before. The man had a regal look to him, and he did not seem one bit afraid of the mice before him. His expression was calm, and though his left arm was still detached and in the sling, he held a sword in his right arm. Geordi felt his heart do flips inside his chest.

But he was far too distracted to think about his sudden emergence of emotions.

Outside, the falling snowflakes started enlarging as well, and he stared in amazement as they became women in pristine, white, flowing ballet tutus and pointe shoes. They broke through the door of the cabin and danced to the side of the handsome robot. Each pulled out a sword of ice from seemingly nowhere and poised themselves, ready for anything.

And in the blink of an eye, a battle unfolded in the living room of the small cabin. Each snowflake warrior paired off with a Romulan and began sparring. The mouse king was dueling the injured robot, and Geordi was in the middle of it all, holding a saucepan and looking utterly bewildered.

He tried to watch each and every ballerina and mouse, striving to keep up with the action. He ducked swords left and right and attempted to keep himself safe. For a second, the couch looked safe, and he tried to make his way to it. However, a snowflake lady had just gracefully leaped onto it as a Romulan swiped at her feet from below.

Geordi was overwhelmed. He could not believe what was happening around him. His Christmas tree had grown three times its original size. And then mice, which were apparently infesting the cabin, turned into Romulans. Snowflakes had transformed into ballerina soldiers. And not to mention the small robot that appeared out of nowhere was now larger than life and fighting a Romulan.

He turned to look at that robot again, hoping to make sense of it all. But his robot wasn’t faring well against his Romulan counterpart. His dislocated left arm was impairing his ability to fight, and the Romulan was clearly going to win.

The Romulan, invigorated by his upper hand, began pushing the robot closer and closer to the burning fire. Geordi saw that no matter how hard his robot tried to fight, it wasn’t going to be enough to save himself.

Without thinking, he raised his saucepan, and smacked the Romulan on the back of the head as hard as he could. The Romulan paused with his sword in midair and stood completely still for a second. Then he toppled over, falling to his knees, and then to the floor. In his tumble, the Romulan knocked the robot off balance, and the robot fell too.

Geordi cried out as he watched his robot fall, smack into the side of the fireplace, and crumple to the ground. He rushed to the robot’s side and pulled the Romulan off of him. The Romulan turned back into a mouse in his hands, and he chucked it to the side. The rest of the Romulans, now all mice, collected their fallen leader and retreated to the tree as Geordi held his robot’s head in his lap.

He felt a hand on his shoulder, and he saw the twelve snowflake women crowding around him, their beautiful faces contorted with distraught. Even with icicle tears pouring down their faces, he thought they were perhaps the most beautiful women he had ever seen.

“I’m sure he’ll be alright,” Geordi told them, although he wasn’t so sure. A lump started to form in his throat, and he felt like crying with them. He didn’t really know why; he had no idea who this striking robot man was.

Rather suddenly, the walls of the cabin started to melt away about him. He tore his eyes away from his robot and watched in awe as the house around him unfolded, and a snowy woodland scene arose all around.

They were all sitting in a clearing in a pine forest, and snow blanketed the ground below them. And while it was possibly the most beautiful thing he had ever seen, it was colder than Geordi had could imagine.

He looked around, hoping a blanket had survived the transition from cozy cottage to snowy woods, but instead, he was caught off guard by his own clothing. He wasn’t in a warm set of pajamas anymore, he was dressed like… well, like the robot in his lap. Shiny black boots and tight, white pants, and a shirt-like something that was similar to a fancy soldier’s uniform. But where the robot’s was a brilliant gold, his was a deep red. It was the most impressive thing he had ever worn.

And the snowflake women, he noticed, were all sorts of alien races. He saw three Bolians, a Caitian, one or two Vulcans, a human, a Risan, and a handful of Andorians. But they all wore the same beautiful gown, and they all had the same thin icicle swords.

Geordi had so many questions that he wanted to ask the ladies. But they were too sad to answer anything, he decided.

They had sat themselves down in a circle around him and his downed robot and continued to cry their frozen tears. Each time an ice drop fell from their eyes, he felt colder and colder, and he wanted to comfort them so that he didn’t end up crying, too. Instead, he stared down at the robot in his lap. He noticed some snow had fallen onto the poor robot’s pale cheek, and he brushed it off with a cold hand.

As soon as Geordi’s hand touched the robot’s face, his yellow eyes opened. Geordi gasped, and the robot blinked at him. The snowflake women around the two of them stopped crying and started laughing with joy.

“Thank you,” the robot said.

Geordi’s heart danced in his chest. This robot man had the most beautiful voice he had ever heard. It was soft and rich, like velvet.

“You’re welcome,” Geordi breathed.

The snowflake women helped the robot to his feet, and Geordi stared up at him. He just noticed that his left arm had been reattached.

It was that same arm that was extended down to pull Geordi up. He took the offered hand and was immediately astounded by the robot’s apparent strength. He was pulled into the man’s arms, and Geordi looked at his face. The robot was staring directly at him with such a soft expression.

He felt his face flood with embarrassment, and he unceremoniously jerked himself out of the robot’s arms.

“May I know the name of my savior?” That silken voice was so unbearably wonderful, Geordi thought.

“Geordi. Ensign Geordi La Forge of the USS _Victory_ ,” he stammered. “And, um, who are you?”

“I am Data, Prince of the Land of Sweets,” Prince Data said. “I welcome you to my kingdom.”

Geordi felt his mouth fall open. “You’re a prince?”

“Yes. And you have saved my life, an act for which I can never repay,” Prince Data said.

“All I did was smack a Romulan over the head,” Geordi said awkwardly. “Why was a Romulan in my cabin anyway?”

“I will explain everything in a moment, Sir La Forge,” Prince Data said. “But for now, my Snowflakes would like to thank you for your service me and my kingdom.”

Geordi turned his attention to the beautiful ladies, who had formed two lines. For a moment, he was confused as to why they had done that, but his unasked question was quickly answered. Two at a time, the women kissed him on the cheek.

Each kiss felt like happiness had filled Geordi’s chest. It felt like the feeling when he had first seen snow outside that little cabin. Every kiss was shockingly warm, and not the icy nip he had been expecting. And he could swear he heard music.

When all of the snowflake women had given him a kiss, he watched them turn away and dance around the clearing, and he knew for a _fact_ he could hear music.

He was suddenly reminded of the box that had held the small Prince Data. And if he remembered correctly…

He turned back and looked at Prince Data, who was standing tall and proud. He raised his eyebrows slightly, and Geordi realized that he had yet to see the prince smile. He supposed his heart would probably melt if he ever did witness that, but it would be worth it.

Prince Data had now moved away from him and raised a hand to the sky. He waved it once, twice, and then lowered his hand and looked expectantly off into the woods. Geordi shuffled over to his side and looked in the same direction. Prince Data seemed to be seeing something Geordi could not, because Geordi’s VISOR wasn’t picking up anything in the woods.

After a few moments, Geordi began to hear bells. Not deep, brass bells like the ones found in old fashioned churches near Starfleet Academy, but light, jingly ones. Like sleigh bells.

And suddenly, there it was. A wooden sleigh emerged from the woods, pulled by two large, magnificent black horses.

The sleigh stopped just in front of Prince Data, and he held out his hands. The horses nuzzled their noses into his hands, and it looked to Geordi like they were happy to see him again. Geordi thought it was immensely sweet.

Geordi followed Prince Data around to the sleigh itself. As the prince climbed in, Geordi noticed that nobody else was in it. How did the sleigh get there, then? Did the horses find him themselves? And how did it get there so quickly?

A hand reached out in front of his face, and he looked up. Prince Data was offering to help him up onto the sleigh.

“Come. I will take you to my palace, where we will dine in honor of my return, and dance the night away in gratitude of your help,” Prince Data said.

Geordi blushed and took the hand, and he was gracefully lifted into the sleigh.

He sat down on the seat next to Prince Data. With a sharp snap of the reins, Prince Data started the sleigh. Geordi took one last look back at the dancing snowflake women, who stopped dancing to wave and blow kisses at him. He lost sight of them once they entered the woods.

“It’s beautiful,” Geordi whispered, staring at the passing pine trees doused with shimmering snow.

“Indeed,” Prince Data said, looking at him. “Every last snow-covered inch of my kingdom has its own beauty.”

“Is it always winter here?” Geordi asked. “Aren’t you cold all the time?”

“I am an android. I do not get cold.”

So _that’s_ what the prince was. Android. Not a robot.

“And even if I were not an android,” Prince Data continued, “I am sure I would have the ability to feel happiness as you humanoids do. It is happiness that keeps us warm here in the Land of Sweets. As long as there is happiness within you, you will never be cold.”

“Wait, you don’t feel?” Geordi asked. “That’s pretty sad.”

“Please, do not be sad. I want you to be warm,” Prince Data said. “It is not a sad thing that I do not feel as you do. While I will never learn the humanoid version of happiness, I have one of my own. My feelings are not like yours; they are feelings of my own. And even though sometimes I do wish to feel as humanoids do, I am content with those that I do have. So please, do not be sad, Sir La Forge.”

“You can call me Geordi, Your Highness,” Geordi said.

“And you may call me Data,” he replied, looking at Geordi. “May I ask you a question?”

“Well, you technically already did.”

“Right,” Data said. “May I ask another after this one?”

“Sure. It’s about my VISOR, isn’t it?” Geordi sighed.

“Do you mind if I ask? If you do, I shall no longer inquire about it.”

“No, it’s fine. I just have to explain it a lot,” Geordi said. “You see, I’m blind. I’ve been that way since I was born. This helps me see. I guess it’s not in the way people normally see, but it’s now _I_ see. And no, I don’t regret it. I like who I am, and that includes my blindness.”

“I understand.” Data’s radiant yellow eyes looked kindly at him. “You and I are not so different. We both perceive the world differently than others.”

“I suppose,” Geordi said, smiling at him.

Data looked at Geordi’s lips and mimicked his smile.

And there it was. The smile that melted Geordi’s heart. He finally understood what Data had meant by happiness bringing warmth. Geordi didn’t think he could be any happier and he felt like he was sitting in front of a bonfire.

“Do you still wish to know why the Romulans were in your cabin?” Data asked, bringing Geordi back into reality.

“Oh, right,” Geordi said, suddenly remembering that. “Yeah, I do.”

“Many years ago, while I was out training one night with my Snowflakes, I came across a man. I know not who he was, for he never told me his name. What he did tell me was that he was a man of great magic. Greater magic than could be found in all of the Land of Sweets. I asked him what he wanted, but he replied that it was not what he wanted, but what I needed.”

“What did you need?” Geordi asked curiously.

“That is what I also asked, because I was not aware I had needed anything. The man replied that I would know when I came across it. He offered me the chance to have what I needed, and with the encouragement from my Snowflakes, I agreed. The man snapped his fingers, and I found myself unable to move, and my Snowflakes had turned into real snow. The man said what I needed was a savior, and I was locked in that box. I do not know how long I was in there.”

“And then I found you.”

“Yes. I have no idea how those Romulans were involved, but I do know you saved me from the Romulan, making you the savior I needed,” Data finished.

“So he tricked you, then. You were perfectly fine until he convinced you that you needed a savior. You didn’t actually need one until he turned you into a little statue,” Geordi surmised.

Data turned to face him and looked at him with gentle eyes. “Perhaps,” was all he said.

Geordi wished to live in that moment forever. Just him and Data, locking eyes forever. But Data broke the gaze to point to something in front.

“Ahead is my palace.”

Geordi looked to where Data was pointing, and he instantly felt giddy. The palace looked so… delicious. It looked like it was made from candies of all kind. Walls of light colored hard candies, turrets of candy cane and lollipop spires, a roof of marzipan and taffy, with rock candy tiles. A chocolate bar drawbridge sat over a river of molten caramel.

He was tempted to jump into the caramel moat as the sleigh was pulled over the drawbridge, but he figured that probably wouldn’t be the best idea. It’d be pretty rude to his host. And it was more than likely he’d get stuck in the sticky caramel.

The sleigh slowed to a stop when it reached the steps of the palace. Geordi looked down at the steps, which looked like they were made of a multitude of colored mints. Sugar floss filled the cracks between the mints. Never before had Geordi wanted to eat stairs so badly.

Data, already at the foot of the steps, held out a hand to help Geordi down. He took it, thinking of all of the times Data gave him his hand. It made him feel a little dizzy inside. He was so drawn to this enchanting android prince.

When Geordi was down from the sleigh, Data turned to him. “Can you whistle?”

“Yeah, why?”

“Magnificent,” Data breathed. Geordi felt his cheeks warm up again. “I cannot. Can you whistle an F?”

“A what?” Geordi asked blankly.   

“An F,” Data said. He sang a note.

Geordi whistled it loudly. “Like that?”

At the sound of the whistle, the two majestic horses began to pull the sleigh away.

“Exactly like that, thank you,” Data said. “They will return to the stables now. And it is time for us to enter the palace.”

Geordi turned around to look at the splendid place again and was surprised to see a person exit the large doors made of wafer and descend down the steps.

He had thought the snowflake women were the most beautiful women, but he was wrong. She was by far the most alluring, lovely woman Geordi had ever seen. With her cascading chocolate curls dancing about her shoulders, and her dark eyes filled with joy, she was far more intriguing than any woman in the Federation. But her smile was perhaps the most beautiful thing about her.

Like the snowflake ballerinas, she was also wearing pointe shoes and a tutu. But her tutu was short and flat, and not all white. Hers was lavender and pink, with sparkling gems fanning up her bodice and across her skirt, and flowing sleeves. Wings that looked like delicate lace protruded from her back, which, surprisingly, wasn’t the most peculiar thing Geordi had seen that day. A small, highly jeweled crown sat atop her elegant curls.

“Data!” she cried in jubilation. Her voice had an accent Geordi could place as Betazoid, but there was so much more to it. It felt like home to him. Everything about her radiated comfort and joy.

“Geordi, this is my Sugar Plum Fairy, Deanna Troi. She is my metaphorical right hand, and my best friend,” Data said. “Deanna, this is Geordi La Forge. It was he who rescued me.”

“Then we owe him our eternal gratitude,” Deanna said, smiling.

She kissed his cheek like the Snowflakes had done, but hers felt different. Hers felt more like Geordi’s fondest memories and the taste of his favorite sweets. It felt like a fresh breeze and his favorite color.

“Come!” Deanna said. “Everyone inside is waiting for you two!”

She pranced up the steps on her toe shoes, and her wings fluttered sprightly. Data, yet again, offered his hand to Geordi. He trailed up the steps behind Data, watching him closely and holding his hand.

Deanna pushed open the doors of the palace, and Geordi was immediately blown away.

The interior was just as delightful as the outside, and there were so many people inside. Colorful gowns and capes twirled about, and there was and buzz of excitement among the people. Elation hung about the air as Deanna, Data, and Geordi passed through the crowds of vibrant people.

In the very center of the leftmost wall was a small staircase, bejeweled in candies. It led up to a charming balcony that jutted out of the wall three meters up. The balcony’s railing was made of multicolored candy spindles. On the balcony were two thrones. One was admittedly grander than the other, but they were both made of fine candy and craftsmanship.

Deanna guided them to the foot of the stairs and gestured for them to continue. She followed behind Data and Geordi up the stairs.

As soon as they reached the balcony, a hush fell over the large room. Everyone looked up at them expectantly, and Deanna stood at the very edge of the balcony.

“Our prince has returned!” She announced. “And he has brought the savior, Geordi La Forge!”

The entire palace erupted in applause. Geordi, who had already blushed more times that day than he had ever done in his entire life, waved slightly to the crowd below.

He turned his attention to Deanna, as she took the crown off her head. It instantly changed from a delicate, silvery tiara studded with jewels to a golden crown that gently sloped into points with small diamonds. She placed it on Data’s head, and the crowds below applauded harder.

When the cheering subsided, the crowd started to split apart. At first Geordi thought it was a bit strange, but then Deanna raised her arms, and long tables and benches appeared. She flicked a hand, and the most delectable food Geordi had ever seen filled the tables.

Everyone prepared to sit down, but before they did so, they looked up at the three of them on the balcony. Geordi looked to Data for a clue, and he gestured for Geordi to take a seat. Geordi was about to sit on the less extravagant of the two thrones, but Data stopped him.

“This is your seat,” Data said, pointing to the larger throne.

“But… isn’t it yours?”

“You are the guest of honor,” Deanna said with a twinkling laugh.

Geordi looked at the two of them for another moment, but slowly sat down in the larger throne. As soon as he had settled, everyone down below sat, too, and began to eat. Deanna waved her hands, and a small table appeared in front of Data and Geordi. She smiled at them one last time, and then joined the congregation down below.

Data, Geordi noticed, did not eat.

“Don’t you eat?” Geordi asked.

“I can, but I do not need to,” Data said. “And I do not taste, so I prefer not to eat.”

“I’m sorry,” Geordi said. “That’s no fun.”

“So I have been told,” Data replied. “But I am content with watching others experience taste. I am also very content that you are enjoying the food.”

Geordi was too flabbergasted to respond to that, so he just ate instead.

As everyone, including Geordi, reached the point of being full, the food disappeared from the tables, and then, when the last person had finished, the tables and chairs themselves disappeared from below. Geordi’s table vanished as well.

For a few minutes, there was nothing but talking.

“What happens now?” Geordi asked, terrified he’d have to give a speech.

“Now my court will perform for you,” Data said.

Geordi blinked. “But they just ate! Wouldn’t that upset their stomachs.”

“This is the Land of Sweets, nobody upsets their stomach,” was Data’s answer.

The crowds removed themselves from a portion of the floor below, and many stood along the sides or the back of the room. Deanna the Sugar Plum Fairy came forward and addressed Data and Geordi up on the balcony.

“It is my honor to welcome forth the members of the court to dance for Your Highness and his savior,” Deanna said.

Deanna turned to the crowd to the left of the room and held out a hand. A lady with short blonde hair in gold and brown tailcoat and trousers joined her. Deanna waved her hand, and her sparkling lavender tutu changed to a gown to match the woman’s attire.

“With great pleasure,” Deanna said, “I present my wife, Duchess Tasha Yar of Chocolate.”

Duchess Tasha bowed politely and took her wife’s hand as Deanna curtsied. A tune with a flowing trumpet and light woodwinds struck and the two began to dance in perfect mirror of each other. Every so often the duchess would break the mirroring to spin her wife around or lift her in the air. Deanna’s face was the epitome of glee, and Duchess Tasha appeared to be equally as elated.

The dance finished as Duchess Tasha and Deanna in the same pose, but with Deanna kneeling in front of her. For a moment, it was silent. Then the room remembered to breath, and it exploded in applause.

Deanna and Duchess Tasha bowed and curtsied to Data and Geordi again, and Duchess Tasha kissed her wife before returning to the crowd. Deanna restored her original lavender outfit.

“I now welcome Count Riker of Coffee to dance,” she announced.

A man with a brown beard and a dark blue uniform emerged from the crowd. He planted a kiss Deanna’s hand before he turned to the balcony and bowed. A slow, rhythmic tune eased in, and a woman, also in blue, joined him as to dance across the floor.

Geordi wasn’t sure of it at first. The music was too slow, and the fluid movements and acrobatics that the two performed didn’t seem like coffee to him. But after watching it in its entirety, he understood. It wasn’t about the _caffeine_ , it was celebrating coffee and all its luxuries. He was probably the loudest to clap when Count Riker and his counterpart finished.

“The Earl Picard of Tea!”

Geordi leaned slightly forward to see the balding man in a bright red outfit. He had a wise look about his face, and he gave a curt nod rather than a bow. Geordi was not expecting a spirited music to pick up, and he certainly wasn’t expecting the amount of jumps that man made. But jump that man did, and exceedingly well, too.

The happy demeanor left again as the Earl Picard finished the dance and gave a second sharp nod. Geordi was still impressed. There was no end to the surprises of the Land of Sweets.

Deanna reappeared. “And now, the Lord Worf, and his Candy Canes!”

Lord Worf was a thick, muscular Klingon who gave a very deep bow. His Candy Canes were equally as strapping as he was, and it was no shock to Geordi was a very Slavic sounding piece played. He watched as the ten or so men used their clearly defined muscles to perform very difficult looking moves, which included, but were not limited to: very high jumps, very low kicks, and very fast footwork.

What really took the cake was that when the song sped to its end, the men didn’t even look remotely tired.  Lord Worf put a fist over his chest and bowed even deeper than before as the cheers rang throughout the hall.

“Katherine Pulaski and her Reed Flutes!” Deanna declared as she pulled a wiry haired woman in a floor-length dress from the crowd.

This Katherine Pulaski didn’t dance herself, but rather played her flute with two other ladies center stage. Younger women in tutus did the dancing. Geordi was too enraptured by the flutes in the center to pay attention to the dancing, so he missed out on most of it. He felt a bit bad.

“The Mother Ginger, Beverly Crusher, and her son Wesley, the Polichinelle!”

A striking woman with fiery red hair came out with a boy dressed quite absurdly. Since there was two different parts to the dancing again, he watched the young Wesley dance around like a fool. For the third time, there was a tremendous number of leaps, and for the third time, he was quite impressed.

Before Mother Ginger left the stage, she kissed Deanna on the cheek and then waved to the balcony. Geordi liked her and her son immensely. If given the opportunity, he’d become friends with them in a heartbeat.

Deanna called the next group up. “Dewdrop Fairy Ro Laren and her Rosebuds!”

The Dewdrop Fairy and her Rosebuds all curtsied at once, and Geordi recognized a Vulcan, a few humans, and two Bajorans (one being Ro Laren herself) among the group. Their dresses looked exactly like the Snowflakes, but this time with reds and pinks.

This dance was longer than the rest, but he was okay with that. He was absolutely enchanted by their flowing skirts and elegant motion. Ro Laren did a lot of solo movement, and the song was long enough for him to spend time watching her and her Rosebuds.

He got so lost in their movement that he was surprised when it ended, and the twelve Rosebuds lightly tiptoed away as the Dewdrop Fairy curtsied and blew a kiss to the balcony.

Geordi felt that one like he had felt the kisses from the Snowflakes and the Sugar Plum Fairy. But her kiss, instead of favorite memories or snow, felt like a fresh spring rain back at Starfleet Academy, and the smell of the mud and petrichor and fresh flowers.

When Deanna returned to the center of the dance floor, he expected her to announce another person or group. Instead, a tinkling music began, and she started dancing.

She floated around like no other. Words couldn’t even begin to describe what Geordi saw as she danced. The best he could come up with was “sparkles, but a person”.  After her dance, he relayed that information to Data. He instead described it in much greater detail, but Geordi didn’t listen to a thing he said. He just sat and watched Data relay what he thought of his Sugar Plum Fairy’s dance, which was just as beautiful as watching her actually performing the dance.

After her dance and Data had quietly recalled it to Geordi, she announced there was one dance left. Geordi wasn’t sure who was supposed to go next, but he doubted they’d be able to dance anything better than what Deanna just did.

However, Data stood and walked down the stairs. Geordi thought he was going to pick someone out of the crowd, or maybe dance with Deanna, but he didn’t.

He held out his hand.

And Geordi had barely enough time to process what he was doing before he had descended the stairs and took that hand.

Everything seemed so much bigger and more brilliant from the floor. He was instantly overwhelmed with all of the colors and the people, but when Data drew him in close to dance, all he could focus on was everything that was Data.

The song Data and Geordi danced to was slow and beautiful. It sounded like one of those dances that would be in a holonovel where people danced with their true love for the first time.

Something finally clicked inside Geordi’s mind, and he looked at Data. Data stared right back at him with his lovely yellow gaze.

“I didn’t just save you from Romulans, did I?” Geordi whispered.

“No, Geordi,” Data said, twirling Geordi around and pulling him back in. “You saved me from so much more.”

“I did?” It wasn’t really a question, but when Data stared at him like that, he lost all ability to process what he was saying.

“Indeed.”

The two danced in silence for a brief moment, just gently holding on to each other.

And then Data, in his wonderfully velvet voice, said softly, “Stay here with me.”

So many thoughts ran through Geordi’s mind in the second that followed. He had family back at home, he was an engineer and there was no engineering here, he barely knew this android prince…

So his answer boiled down to one word.

“Yes.”

And the music swelled as Data bent Geordi down for a kiss.

**Author's Note:**

> First:Thank you for reading! I wrote this in one day and enjoyed it immensely! I hope you like reading it as much as I liked writing it. I never edited it so I could get it out before Christmas, so I'll fix mistakes as I see them.  
> Second: I tried to stick with the original story that I used to dance to when I was in ballet, but yeah, ok, I had some issues with "casting". None of the characters really fit the true ethnicity, so here's how I did it- Tasha is chocolate because Deanna love chocolate and Tasha loves Deanna. Riker is coffee bc... idk he looks like a coffee dude. I ran out of room for him. Picard is the EARL of TEA. What more do I need to say? Worf was raised Russian, so he fits perfectly. Pulaski was unceremoniously thrown into the mix because I needed someone to play a flute. Beverly Crusher, the love of my life, was Mother Ginger because 1- red hair and 2- she's a mom and Wesley can be a clown sometimes. Yes, the Snowflakes are both the original snowflakes PLUS the tin soldiers. Because I'm very into ballerina warriors. And so are the Rosebuds because each Snowflake has married a Rosebud. Ro Laren married the woman Riker danced with. Some of the Rosebuds include Sito Jaxa, Keiko O'Brien, Sonya Gomez, Nurse Ogawa, and Dr. Selar.  
> Last: Geordi stayed bc true love and soulmates! Also I might write a sequel to this someday.  
> .  
> Until then- if you celebrate it, Merry Christmas! If you don't, I hope any holiday you do celebrate is wonderful and I hope you have a good winter!


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